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A Legacy of Land

Author:

Elisabeth Ptak

Source:

2012 Annual Report

Call it experience. Dave Anderson, past chair of the Land Trust Alliance Board of Directors, has spent a lifetime working to safeguard cherished landscapes in his professional capacity as an environmental and land conservation law attorney.

Call it dedication. Besides serving on the Alliance board from 2001–2012, he was on the board of the California Nature Conservancy for 30 years. He helped found the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County (CA), and is on the board of the Wood River Land Trust (ID) and the Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County. All three land trusts are accredited.

Call it transformation. According to President Rand Wentworth, “The Alliance has been completely transformed thanks to Dave’s energetic and inspiring leadership. These have been challenging times for the land trust community and the nation, and he met those challenges with determination, intelligence and a great sense of humor.”

Call it quality. In 2002, corporate accounting scandals led to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the ethics spotlight was beginning to shine on nonprofits. Rather than wait to see what the climate of oversight would bring from the federal government, the Alliance took a leadership role, with guidance and support from Dave and other visionaries. With the input of land trusts from around the country, the Alliance devised stricter methods of accountability and responsibility.

The board had no idea if the conservation groups would buy into what would become the accreditation process, and in fact, “There was resistance at first because it meant land trusts had to get their houses in order,” says Dave.

But the accreditation process that the Alliance established recognizes a land trust’s commitment to continuous quality improvement and has resolved the threat of potential government intervention. Now, accredited land trusts account for 51% of all acres currently owned in fee or protected by a conservation easement held by a land trust.

Call it excellence. Still not satisfied, Dave says, “We realized about four years ago that we needed to ramp up our ability to help land trusts do highquality conservation.” This led to the establishment of the Leadership and Excellence Enhancement programs to strengthen land trust capacity—all based on the idea that “if we can collectively learn and network more, we can learn from what each of us is doing,” says Dave. “We can improve opportunities for more strategic conservation, increase board member enthusiasm and create longer-lasting conservation across the country.”

Call it permanence. “The inception and the maturation of Terrafirma Risk Retention Group LLC could not have happened without Dave’s leadership, dedication and perseverance,” says Leslie Ratley- Beach, Alliance conservation defense director. “He was the innovator who was there from the beginning. We now have a cost-effective way to defend the permanence of conserved lands.”

Writing to Dave in honor of his board service, former Alliance chair Peter Hausmann said, “The greatest gift we can leave for those who follow us is permanently protected lands. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, inspiring, comforting, educating and connecting all of us for all times. Could there be a greater legacy?”

Call it the future.

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